"All genuine learning is active, not passive. It involves the use of the mind, not just the memory. It is the process of discovery, in which the student is the main agent, not the teacher." (Mortimer Adler)

Essential Question: How can I create a lesson that will help develop critical thinking in my students?

Check out a funny clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail that underscores the importance of asking the right questions.....and giving the right responses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWS8Mg-JWSg (Approximate length: 2 minutes)

TO PREPARE FOR OUR CLASS THIS WEEK, DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. View the following video, What Questions Did You Ask Today. It provides very interesting food for thought and is related to your Checking for Understanding Activity this week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ZnJIdgc1A (Approximate length: 4 minutes)

2. View the following short videos for ideas on how to write and ask questions of different levels and how to teach your students how to write questions at different levels.

Designing Leveled Questions: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/designing-questions (Approximate length: 2 minutes)
Writing Higher Order Questions: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/developing-better-questions (Approximate length: 2 minutes)

3. Read and study the following notes.

Questioning Skills - STUDENT NOTES Fall 2014-1-3.ppt

4. CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING - LEVELS OF QUESTIONS:
Complete the Checking for Understanding activity in the notes above (#3). Be prepared to share in class and submit the activity for evaluation.

Checking for Understanding - Questioning Skills

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING - Questioning Skills
After reading and viewing the material above on Questioning Skills, respond to the three questions listed below. Be prepared to discuss your responses in class. Here are the questions: Your answer should be at least one-page, single-spaced. Be sure to include your name, date and title of your paper - Checking for Understanding: Questioning Skills

Why should teachers have good 'Questioning Skills'? What are the components or elements that make for good Questioning Skills? Read and view the material on Teaching and Questioning Skills and describe in your own words - what are Questioning Skills and how can teachers use Questioning Skills to work with their students in a classroom setting? What is the purpose of 'Designing Leveled Questions" and "Writing Higher Order Questions?" How should a teacher use questioning skills - such as 'Designing Leveled Questions and Writing Higher Order Questions to help ther students' understanding? Please cite information from your reading and viewing - using quotes and page numbers, name of video - to define your response.
How can you apply knowledge of Questioning Skills to your own life experiences? Can you relate your knowledge and understanding of Questioning Skills - to your own life and experiences? Have you experienced a good demonstration of Questioning Skills - at school, at home and/or in an extracurricular activity? Did knowledge and/or experience of good Questioning Skills help you? Have you ever experienced an incident where a demonstration Questioning Skills did not help you? Can you see a direct relationship to your understanding of Questioning Skills and your own teaching? Explain your experience in detail - underlining what you learned and its relationship to your understanding of Questioning Skills to your own experiences and career goals.
How can you apply the principles of Questioning Skills to the preparation of your In-Class Micro-teaching? In our class, we will be developing our own Professional Communities - to complete our 2 Microteaching assignments - and to learn from each other. How can you apply your knowledge of Questioning Skills - and specifically, the principles and components of "Designing Leveled Questions" and "Writing Higher Order Questions" - to your the preparation of your 2 Microteaching assignments to your Professional Learning Community? What knowledge and understanding of these concepts - Domains of Learning, Instructional Objectives, Direct Teaching, Presentation Skills, and Questioning Skills - can you apply to the preparation and instruction of your own EDG 4410 Microteach lessons?

Remember:

Title your paper - name, date, Checking for Understanding - Questioning Skills
Please write at least one-page, single-spaced
Include Direct Learning article and/or source citation
Submit final paper to our web-course - under Checking for Understanding - Questioning Skills